A.I.L.A. Review – How Scary Can An AI Be?

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The horror genre has experienced a revival in the last ten years, largely driven by smaller, independent game developers. While major studios have mostly stayed away from horror – with exceptions like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Alan Wake – new and innovative titles are frequently released by lesser-known studios. Pulsatrix Studios, with their latest game A.I.L.A., is a great example, bringing a fresh approach to the genre with a particularly intriguing central idea.

In A.I.L.A., you play as Samuel, a game tester for a software company simply known as “The Company.” Samuel’s job usually involves quality assurance for new games, but his latest assignment is unusual. He receives a development kit for a new VR program, A.I.L.A., and is asked to test it before its release. As he sets up the kit, Samuel discovers that A.I.L.A. isn’t just a typical game; it’s a powerful tool that allows The Company to create unique, personalized gaming experiences for each player.

When you connect and start A.I.L.A., you’ll meet the AI itself, which will explain how it works.

The game is set in 2038, and the world clearly shows signs of a bleak, cyberpunk dystopia. You play as Samuel, who lives in a spacious apartment with several locked rooms he can’t access. He’s also behind on his bills, which means some of his smart home features aren’t working. Strangely, it’s unclear how to even leave the apartment – it might be behind one of those locked doors.

When you start A.I.L.A., you’ll meet the AI itself, which explains how it works. It learns about the main character, Samuel, by putting him through various scenarios. The more it learns, the better it becomes at crafting personalized and engaging experiences specifically for him. This idea is very promising, as A.I.L.A. cleverly explores Samuel’s personality through the horror experiences he enjoys. Interestingly, the AI isn’t limited to creating only horror – it’s capable of more than that within the story.

The first level, which is the same one shown in the game’s demo and where you receive the A.I.L.A. kit, is both impressive and a little uneven. Called the Impossible House, it mainly involves exploring three rooms and a hallway. A clever feature is a TV and remote that change the house’s layout, opening and closing doors to help you progress. This makes a fantastic first impression, keeping you constantly tense as you investigate the rooms in their different configurations.

A.I.L.A. will soon be able to generate uniquely engaging and personalized experiences specifically for Samuel.

Even in the early stages of the game, I encountered some frustrating issues with A.I.L.A. The biggest problem is a lack of clear direction – it’s often unclear what you’re supposed to do. While this contributes to the game’s unsettling atmosphere at times, many of the puzzles feel random and illogical. One example is a tedious task where you have to repeatedly move between a room and hallway to find a specific corpse, cut off its finger, and use that finger to unlock a new room. Throughout the game, you’ll collect other disturbing items like eyeballs and various body parts as part of these puzzles.

I’m not looking for obvious clues that simply reveal the puzzle solutions. The real issue is that the puzzles themselves in this game aren’t very logical. Most games offer helpful details in item descriptions or provide maps for bigger areas, but A.I.L.A. only gives you really cryptic hints – like a bloody note on the wall warning you not to let a door shut. It’s just not very helpful.

The puzzles in this game can be uneven – you’ll either enjoy their strange style or not. However, the levels focused on action and forward momentum are much more engaging, offering better pacing and gameplay. As for the basic mechanics, A.I.L.A doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it works well enough. You can move, crouch, interact with the environment, and fight enemies – and it all feels good. The limited ammunition adds to the tension, creating a consistently engaging experience.

“Speaking of general gameplay, A.I.L.A. doesn’t really do anything new but it gets the job done.”

Okay, so A.I.L.A. definitely leans into classic horror stuff. You’ll see the usual suspects – creepy dolls, mannequins designed to freak you out, and even the occasional chase from a guy with an axe. Honestly, it felt a bit hit or miss for me. Some of the jump scares got a genuine reaction, but the overuse of things like mannequins just felt a little much. Whether you’ll like it really depends on what kind of horror you’re into, I guess.

The game features a significant amount of graphic violence, starting right away with a brutal injury to the main character. In fact, it sometimes feels like the game relies too heavily on gore, with scenes depicting extreme acts like removing glass from wounds or even self-amputation. Combat is similarly violent, as enemies are often dismembered or explode depending on the weapon used.

Although the AI, A.I.L.A., provides intriguing experiences for Samuel, the game truly shines during the quieter moments in between. Samuel is a compelling character, and his conversations with the AI reveal a lot about him. However, the story doesn’t develop much beyond this, and each level feels separate, offering only glimpses into Samuel’s personality and background.

I’ve been playing this game, and honestly, while the stuff A.I.L.A. does for Samuel is cool, I’m way more invested in the quieter moments between those big events. That’s when the game really feels like it clicks and makes sense to me.

Visually, A.I.L.A. is very striking. The graphics clearly utilize cutting-edge technology like Lumen and MetaHuman, which is immediately noticeable as you explore the apartment. Even small details are easy to see thanks to the game’s high visual quality. Performance was also good; I achieved around 110 frames per second on high settings with a PC equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor, an AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT graphics card, and 32GB of DDR5-6000 RAM. The audio is solid – sound effects and ambient sounds are satisfying – but doesn’t really stand out within the horror genre.

A.I.L.A. starts strong with an intriguing concept, immediately grabbing your attention. But after playing for a few hours, its weaknesses become clear. While individual levels are interesting, they often feel disconnected from the main story about Samuel’s mental state and the deterioration of the A.I.L.A. system. The action gameplay is decent, but the puzzles are frequently confusing and illogical. The game also lacks sufficient guidance, which can be frustrating, particularly in puzzle sections, and creates accessibility issues. Despite being visually stunning, A.I.L.A. ultimately doesn’t live up to its potential and falls short of delivering a truly compelling horror experience.

This game was reviewed on PC.

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2025-11-27 21:17